Hour of Freedom “The Story of an Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. It details a wife named Mrs. Louise Mallard, who struggles with a heart condition. After learning of her husband, Brentley Mallard’s death in a railroad accident, Mrs. Mallard deals with grief in many stages. Chopin incorporates many literary devices throughout “The Story of an Hour,” but imagery is the most evident. “A Short Guide to Imagery, Symbolism, and Figurative Language Imagery” describes imagery as “a writer or speaker’s use of words or figures of speech to create a vivid mental picture or physical sensation”(Clark). In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin uses nature imagery to portray the journey of emotions that Mrs. Mallard experiences …show more content…
Mallard reaches a sense of exuberant liberation. She is overwhelmed with feelings of a newfound freedom. Chopin illustrates this burst of hope once again through nature imagery when she writes, “But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air”(Chopin 237). Though Mrs. Mallard tries, she cannot fight the growing sense of freedom that overtakes her. Chopin writes this change as a powerful realization that Mrs. Mallard cannot help but accept. Now she is no longer pitiful and heartbroken but joyful and excited for a life free of her husband’s dominant presence. The story says for the first time in her life, Mrs. Mallard prays for a long life. Gary Mayer describes Mrs. Mallard’s new situation by writing: "Louise's joy, it may be argued, is her thought of being single, not the realization that her husband is alive"(Mayer 95). When this change occurs, Chopin expresses Louise Mallard’s new found freedom by finally using her first name rather than her surname as she writes, “Louise, open the door!”(Chopin 237). This signifies the rebirth of a woman formally suppressed by the name of her husband; she is no longer defined by someone else, but she defines herself and her …show more content…
Mallard’s emotional journey. From her initial reluctance to her ultimate freedom, Mrs. Mallard reflects nature’s everchanging beauty. Chopin conducts a symphony of imagery that pieces together the life and death of Louise Mallard. It is evident that Chopin uses Louise Mallard’s story to convey her perception of women and men’s roles during the late 1800’s by showcasing her acceptance of the freedom that could only be gained by a single woman. The descriptions used in Chopin’s work are a marvelous representation of her character’s struggle with inner conflicts. Louise’s victory in accepting her husband’s death is a feeling that she now cannot live without. The ultimate death of Louise Mallard is one that represents physical and emotional defeat. In this dramatic short story, Chopin uses imagery to sew together a tapestry of emotions all encompassed in an ill-stricken widow. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Writing: A Guide for College and Beyond. 4th ed., Pearson, 2016. Clark, Andrea. "A Short Guide to Imagery, Symbolism, and Figurative Language." AusitnCC, www.austincc.edu/andreac/imagery. Accessed 18 Feb. 2018. Mayer, Gary H. "A Matter of Behavior: A Semantic Analysis of Five Kate Chopin Stories." ETC: A Review of General Semantics, vol. 67, no. 1, Jan. 2010, pp. 94-100. EBSCOhost, lrcproxy.iccms.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=53300776&site=eds-live.
Hannah Taulealea Ms.Wilson Block 2: Night Essay rough draft 19 April 2017 Inhumanity to Humans In the heart-rending and powerful book Night by Eli Wiesel, inhumanity and great mistreatment toward the people of the Jewish religion during the times of the Holocaust are described throughout using stylistic elements such as: Imagery and figurative language. Eli Wiesel incorporates these elements often in his book which helps the readers to understand the idea of inhumanity quite clearly. Imagery is used strongly in this book and it’s especially shown at many points during. It helps to aid the reader’s thought process and imagination of what happened in the story by using specifics such as words and phrases to help one
Mallard, and the girlfriend want to communicate how they feel and do not want to be constrained. Chopin was a feminist which encouraged her to write The Story of an Hour. Women do not want to feel possessed and want to be self-asserted (Chopin, 2004). Women are told to respect their marriages and must abide to society. Mrs. Mallard feels free of duties when she understands that her husband has deceased.
‘Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door—you will make yourself ill.’ said Louis”(Chopin). It is ironic that Josephine is so worried about Mrs. Mallard when in reality she is in her room dreaming of how her new life will be. The short story is rather entertaining because you have to think past what the author writes, and create for yourself your own depiction of what the meaning is.
While reading the story, it was clear that Mrs. Mallard was happy for the beginning of her new life and the start of freedom. Chopin uses descriptive diction throughout the story, such as irony, symbol,
This was bitter irony since everyone thought Louise died from being excited to see her husband when she really died from not wanting to see him. “She thought of Leonce and the children. They were part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul. ”(Chopin 137).
“The Story of an Hour” is written by Kate Chopin. The main character in this story is Louise Mallard, a married woman in the 19th century who has a heart defect, she receives news that her husband died in an accident. After hearing the news of her husband she goes into solitude into her room where she finds herself not has sad about her husband but feeling some relief that she can live her own life and gains a new sense of freedom that she will have in the later days to come. This is where the theme of freedom comes in, this is seen using many literary elements throughout the story some of these would be foreshadowing, irony, and symbols to show Mrs. Mallard new- found freedom from her “late” husband.
Those sentiments show that her husband was not a cruel man but a kind one. With that information, it is still noted that “she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not” (Chopin) which could mean her marriage was of convenience and not a choice. Even though this relationship may have been amicable Louise still struggles with this new emotion, that of
Kate Chopin wrote a story about Mrs. Mallard, a married woman who suffers from heart problems and also has to cope with her husband recent passing. Mrs.Mallard, she showed sincere grief about her husband passing. However, looking back at how controlling her husband Mr.Mallard were in their marriage, Mrs.Mallard felt a sudden joy when processing her husband death After her sudden emotional change, Mrs Mallard felt liberated when she started thinking about what her life would be like without Mr.Mallard, but regardless of the happiness she feels, she knows that once she sees her husband in corpse that sadness will return. Through her writing, author Chopin readers/ audience would be women who feel trapped and controlled in their marriage. Anger, loneliness and heartbroken are feelings that women who're coping with the death of their loved one feel.
Mallard as a character by supplying the reader with a background knowledge of her heart disease. Imagery also helps to convey the theme of freedom used in the story. Freedom is displayed when Mrs.Mallard is yelling “free, free, free!” (7). Lastly, imagery is used to display irony in the fact that Mrs. Mallard dies of “heart disease - joy that kills” (8). In conclusion, Kate Chopin uses imagery to show that the news of a death is easily broken to someone afflicted with heart disease, a feeling of freedom is experienced by someone who just lost their husband and “Heart disease- of joy that
The Everlasting Symbols of Irony “When the Doctors came they said she had died of heart disease - - of the joy that kills.” (Chopin 4). The Story of an Hour is a short story published by Kate Chopin that consists of a woman who was diagnosed with a heart disease and appears to present a rather complex relationship with her husband who was presumed to be killed in a work-based accident.
Chopin makes her strong statement in this quote from the story. Mrs. Mallard has no one to answer to but herself, and she feels liberated that her husband can no longer control her. During the late nineteenth century, women quite frequently had to suppress themselves to the will of their husbands, or to some other man who had a significant amount of control over their lives. Chopin successfully uses vivid imagery, point of view, and irony that gives a different view of marriage that is not typical of today.
Although it is a short story, it has lot of elements making it a successful story. Chopin’s story has many prevalent themes that are showcased. The idea of forbidden happiness was one major theme present. When Brently Mallard dies, Mrs. Mallard comes to the realization that she is now an independent woman. Although she has to keep this joy private, she tries her best to hide this contentment, Her resistance to her true feelings show how forbidden her emotions are and that society would never accept Louise’s true emotions.
Her first name is only told after her husband dies. Thus, it symbolizes her being free, “Free! Body and soul free! She kept whispering” (Chopin 203). The reader is told that Mr. Mallard is assumed to die from a railroad accident.
In the story, Chopin begins with the issue of female identity. The story, just like several other stories, begins with Mrs. Mallard being at home; two assumptions can be made, one she is married, and two, she is probably waiting for her husband to return home. What is particular about it, is how Chopin only mentions her name after she knows about her husband’s death and when is realizes that she is free. By doing this, the author criticizes the fact that women adopted her husband’s name in marriage as a signal of men’s property. This fact could mean that for a woman to recover her identity or freedom is by becoming a
(Chopin, the Story of an Hour)” It would be prudent to believe by the way Mrs. Mallard was crying that indeed she was devastated about her husband’s tragic death.